Tragedy struck in Murang’a town on Monday evening when a building collapsed, claiming the lives of five individuals, three of whom were university students.
Among the victims were two students from Murang’a University, each pursuing different courses, and a third-year student from Moi University. Emmanuel Asande, one of the students, tragically passed away shortly after being rushed to Murang’a Level-5 Hospital. Asande, who was undertaking his industrial attachment at the construction site, had been working in the building for the past two weeks. A preliminary medical report revealed that he succumbed to injuries sustained in his spinal cord.
Daniel Nkulet, a third-year procurement student, was also working at the construction site as a casual laborer. Nkulet had temporarily deferred his studies for a semester and had been employed in the building, which had reached the third storey before its collapse, for approximately four weeks.
Expressing his sorrow, Professor Dickson Nyariki, the Vice Chancellor of Murang’a University of Technology, described the incident as unfortunate. He mourned the loss of these diligent young individuals, emphasizing their promising futures. The university extended its condolences to the affected families and pledged support for their burial arrangements.
Davis Kemboi, the president of Murang’a University Students Organization (MUSO), announced that they would arrange a memorial event to honor the memory of the two deceased students. Kemboi expressed shock and emotional distress over the deaths of their colleagues, who had been striving to earn a living to support their education. He conveyed their sympathies to the families of the two comrades.
The third student, Geoffrey Wachira, was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology at Moi University. Tragically, he also lost his life at the construction site while working as a casual laborer. The affected individuals were on the ground floor of the building, resulting in five fatalities and four individuals currently recovering at Murang’a Level-5 Hospital.
Rescue operations involved teams from the Kenya Defense Forces, County Disaster Management, the National Disaster Management Unit, and the Red Cross. Their combined efforts successfully concluded the rescue mission on Tuesday evening.
During his visit to the site on Tuesday, Joel Arumonyang, the Principal Secretary for Public Works, expressed the government’s commitment to establishing regulations that address gaps in the construction sector. He lamented the loss of life due to collapsing buildings and emphasized the preventable nature of such tragedies. Arumonyang stated that they would engage with the national assembly to pass the building control bill, which aims to address shortcomings in the construction industry.
“We are currently conducting building inspections, covering 26 counties, and this effort will persist to ensure that people reside in safe structures,” he affirmed. The Principal Secretary also emphasized that the National Construction Authority (NCA) would exercise vigilance and called upon professionals to provide their utmost supervision and expertise.
